Apr. 17, 2014

Written by

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Red Wings
vs. Bruins

The Wings face the Boston Bruins in a best-of-seven first-round series. Game 1: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Boston, FSD. Game 2: 3 p.m. Sunday at Boston, NBC (Channel 4 in Detroit). Game 3: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Detroit, FSD. Game 4: 8 p.m. April 24 at Detroit, FSD. Game 5: 3 p.m. April 26 at Boston, NBC (Channel 4).* Game 6: April 28 at Detroit, FSD.* Game 7: April 30 at Boston, FSD.* *If necessary.

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Daniel Alfredsson has an enthusiasm that teammates have come to love, and rely upon.

He’s a leader for them, something of a playoff linchpin, and one of the reasons the Red Wings feel good about themselves as they engage the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.

Alfredsson came to Detroit last summer after 17 seasons with the Ottawa Senators because he sized up the Wings as giving him a better chance to chase a Stanley Cup in the twilight of his career. Alfredsson has no regrets, even as the Wings were roiled by injuries to superstars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, greatly altering the team Alfredsson thought he was joining.

“It’s been a great year,” Alfredsson said Wednesday. “A challenging year, also, in a lot of ways, but also gratifying, I guess, with the way we battled and were able to put ourselves in the position we wanted to be in. Clinching the playoffs in Pittsburgh was a great feeling, and here we are, starting. It’s exciting. We all know how fun it is going into that first round and playing that first game.”

The sheer joy of playing hockey is part of what has made Alfredsson, 41, such an elite player for nearly two decades. Even as his body has been battered — and his lower back sometimes tightens up to the point he needs to sit a game or two — Alfredsson maintains his good humor.

“He’s never grumpy, always smiling, nice guy in a great mood,” Tomas Tatar said. “That’s what the locker room is supposed to be like, you don’t want to come here and be frustrated. He’s cheering you up, and he’s one of our leaders.”

Brendan Smith cited Alfredsson as having “a youthful mentality. He likes to joke around and, at the same time, he is the veteran older guy with the wisdom. He’s brought our boys together in intermissions and such and said some big things for us.”

Alfredsson has delivered some big points, too, including four game-winning goals among 18 total. He finished with 49 points in 68 games, tied with Niklas Kronwall (in 79 games) as the team’s leading scorer. When he has had someone fast to play with — like current center Darren Helm — Alfredsson has been effective, helping of late especially to form a third line capable of changing a game.

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Much like with Nicklas Lidstrom — another extremely polite and professional Swedish superstar — Mike Babcock appreciates how low-maintenance Alfredsson is.

“He’s smart,” Babcock said. “He creates space for himself, seems to be on the scoresheet all the time. He’s intelligent in the game and has an opinion on it like most guys who have been around a long, long time. He’s been a good fit here.”

Johan Franzen drew a parallel between Alfredsson and Dallas Drake, the old-timer from the 2008 Stanley Cup run that stirred emotions in teammates who knew it’d be his last season. “It brings the team together a little bit more,” Franzen said. “You want to dig down for those guys.” The 2008 team was a powerhouse, but in any incarnation, “veteran guys who want to win the Cup are great to have around,” Babcock said.

Alfredsson has been great to have around, especially for the young set of players, because he sets an example with everything he does. Tomas Jurco, a linemate lately, has learned to be a little more patient with the puck because of watching Alfredsson. “He’s got so much confidence when he makes plays,” Jurco said. “It just seems like he has more time with the puck than he does.” For Gustav Nyquist, Alfredsson is among the core of veterans who inspire extra time in the weight room because “they’ve shown us there are no shortcuts.” For Tatar, it’s intangibles like being around a guy who “is always saying the right stuff, and is just really fun to be around.”

Alfredsson hasn’t decided whether he’s done having fun playing hockey after this season, because the decision hinges to an extent on what happens in the playoffs. But through everything that has happened, he has found a way to relish what has come his way.

“It’s been fun in terms of helping a lot of the young guys with the experience they have had, and hopefully making their position easier,” Alfredsson said. “It’s been fun that way, and it’s been fun seeing them grow into what they’ve become. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, on the ice and off the ice as well, and so has my family. Detroit has been really good to me.”